Karlyboogy
Certified Ski Diva
Last week I went demoing a lot of skis, these were the most interesting. Just made some quick reviews.
My stats:
25 years old, 168 cm (5'6), 58 kg (125-130 lbs). Skiing since I was six years old, but just one week a year. The last three years I've been working on new technique, a lot more skiing in general and a bit off-piste skiing. I love to make long carving turns at high speed with some power.
The reviews:
Völkl Yumi ( 168 ) , sidecut : 125-83-103 , radius : 18.9 m
This ski is smooth and light and likes to carve medium turns. I missed some rebound and edge grip , so I think this ski is better suited for a slightly advanced skier who likes to ski some powder as well.
Blizzard Black Pearl (166 ) , sidecut : 125-88-110 , radius : 17 m
What I really liked was the edge grip, it carved long and short turns really well. It gives some rebound , but I would have liked it to be a bit more. Also the tips could engage earlier.
Blizzard Brahma ( 173 ) , sidecut : 125-88-110 , radius : 18 m
This is a heavy ski! The metal gives the ski a nice solid feel, but you have to put some muscle (or/and weight, or/and speed) into it. Still, with my weight, I could make really nice carving turns and loved the rebound. Short and long turns felt good on this ski. If only the tips would engage a bit earlier.. And my legs were tired pretty soon. I wish they had a Black Pearl with ONE sheet of metal (and a bit less rocker/different tip?)
Salomon Lumen (170 ) , sidecut : 131-96-113 , radius : 18.8 m
This is a light ski, 96 under foot , although it felt smaller than 96. As long as you carve this ski, you get stability and it's playful, but if you have to slip, all stability is gone. It was nice off-piste.
Elan Interra Fusion ( 168 ) , sidecut : 136-88-116 , radius : 15.5 m
I love Elan, but I don't believe in the Amphibio technology. Too bad, the downhill ski did it's job really well, but the uphill ski just didn't want to get along the ride. If they had chosen a little rocker at both (whole) tips, it could have been a good ski.
Nordica Burner (170 ) , sidecut : 126-84-112 , radius : 17 m
This is quite a light ski, 84 mm under foot, though it feels smaller. It's really quick edge to edge. Unfortunately, this ski was too stiff for me and therefore I couldn't ski it well.
Rossignol Experience 88 TPX (170 ) , sidecut : 135-88-124 , radius : 16 m
This ski turns really nice, both long and short. It's a confidence builder, but I thought it was a bit boring. I would have liked to try the Temptations.
K2 Super Bright 90 (160 ) , sidecut : 132-90-115 , radius : 16 m
The ski's very light, really stable under foot and playful (because of the soft tip). Well, only at speed. When I slowed down, it showed it's other personality. Squirrely, I couldn't trust the ski. I would have also liked the tip to engage a bit earlier. But off-piste this tip worked well. It felt smaller under foot. I would have liked to ski these in the 167- or even in the 174 length.
Blizzard Black Pearl ( 173 ) , sidecut : 125-88-110 , radius : 18 m
I felt the 166 length was playful and excelled in short turns, this felt like a lot of ski to manoeuvre.
The Ski Scott ( 165 ) , sidecut : unknown radius : unknown
This looks like a playful ski and so it is. It didn't feel very stable and didn't really carve well.
Völkl Kenja (163 ) , sidecut : 127-87-106 , radius : 18.2 m
This ski wants to go fast! It carves long turns really well, but I felt the edges didn't 'bite' into the snow (maybe bad tune?). It's very direct and stable, which I liked. However, when I went a bit slower (still quite fast) the ski didn't do so well. I would have liked to ski it in 170.
Nordica Hell's Belles ( 162 ) , sidecut : 132-90-118 , radius : 16 m
This is a light ski and at first I didn't really trust it. It didn't feel very stable. Short turns were fine, but I couldn't find much rebound. I did like the direct edgehold-feel which I also felt in the Burners.
Nordica Steadfast (170 ) , sidecut : 132-90-118 , radius : 17 m
Okay, I 'm in love with these skis. The steering so direct, ton of edgegrip and stability! Especially in the short turns I felt great rebound! Long turns were also wonderful. Everything feels easy on this ski, it gives me a lot of confidence.
Dynastar Cham 97 ( 166 ) , sidecut : 133-97-113 , radius : 15 m
I could not really carve this ski and had to get used to it, it felt sluggish. But off-piste , it was just very direct and gave me a lot of confidence , so if you avoid the groomers, this is a very nice ski.
Scott Luna (166 ) , sidecut : unknown radius : unknown
This ski immediately felt too short. It's a twintip . It's light and forgiving , but not really stable at speed. Playful personality like the Scott the Skis.
Before I went demoing, I thought I was looking for a smooth ski with some metal/basalt with tip rocker, 85 mm under foot and a little rebound, with a damp feel which is especially good in long, carved turns. Now I ended with a stiffer, lighter, metal free and more playful ski than I thought, the Nordica Steadfast ( or Hell's Belles , I'll have to find a good deal). I had a blast!
If you have questions, just ask!
My stats:
25 years old, 168 cm (5'6), 58 kg (125-130 lbs). Skiing since I was six years old, but just one week a year. The last three years I've been working on new technique, a lot more skiing in general and a bit off-piste skiing. I love to make long carving turns at high speed with some power.
The reviews:
Völkl Yumi ( 168 ) , sidecut : 125-83-103 , radius : 18.9 m
This ski is smooth and light and likes to carve medium turns. I missed some rebound and edge grip , so I think this ski is better suited for a slightly advanced skier who likes to ski some powder as well.
Blizzard Black Pearl (166 ) , sidecut : 125-88-110 , radius : 17 m
What I really liked was the edge grip, it carved long and short turns really well. It gives some rebound , but I would have liked it to be a bit more. Also the tips could engage earlier.
Blizzard Brahma ( 173 ) , sidecut : 125-88-110 , radius : 18 m
This is a heavy ski! The metal gives the ski a nice solid feel, but you have to put some muscle (or/and weight, or/and speed) into it. Still, with my weight, I could make really nice carving turns and loved the rebound. Short and long turns felt good on this ski. If only the tips would engage a bit earlier.. And my legs were tired pretty soon. I wish they had a Black Pearl with ONE sheet of metal (and a bit less rocker/different tip?)
Salomon Lumen (170 ) , sidecut : 131-96-113 , radius : 18.8 m
This is a light ski, 96 under foot , although it felt smaller than 96. As long as you carve this ski, you get stability and it's playful, but if you have to slip, all stability is gone. It was nice off-piste.
Elan Interra Fusion ( 168 ) , sidecut : 136-88-116 , radius : 15.5 m
I love Elan, but I don't believe in the Amphibio technology. Too bad, the downhill ski did it's job really well, but the uphill ski just didn't want to get along the ride. If they had chosen a little rocker at both (whole) tips, it could have been a good ski.
Nordica Burner (170 ) , sidecut : 126-84-112 , radius : 17 m
This is quite a light ski, 84 mm under foot, though it feels smaller. It's really quick edge to edge. Unfortunately, this ski was too stiff for me and therefore I couldn't ski it well.
Rossignol Experience 88 TPX (170 ) , sidecut : 135-88-124 , radius : 16 m
This ski turns really nice, both long and short. It's a confidence builder, but I thought it was a bit boring. I would have liked to try the Temptations.
K2 Super Bright 90 (160 ) , sidecut : 132-90-115 , radius : 16 m
The ski's very light, really stable under foot and playful (because of the soft tip). Well, only at speed. When I slowed down, it showed it's other personality. Squirrely, I couldn't trust the ski. I would have also liked the tip to engage a bit earlier. But off-piste this tip worked well. It felt smaller under foot. I would have liked to ski these in the 167- or even in the 174 length.
Blizzard Black Pearl ( 173 ) , sidecut : 125-88-110 , radius : 18 m
I felt the 166 length was playful and excelled in short turns, this felt like a lot of ski to manoeuvre.
The Ski Scott ( 165 ) , sidecut : unknown radius : unknown
This looks like a playful ski and so it is. It didn't feel very stable and didn't really carve well.
Völkl Kenja (163 ) , sidecut : 127-87-106 , radius : 18.2 m
This ski wants to go fast! It carves long turns really well, but I felt the edges didn't 'bite' into the snow (maybe bad tune?). It's very direct and stable, which I liked. However, when I went a bit slower (still quite fast) the ski didn't do so well. I would have liked to ski it in 170.
Nordica Hell's Belles ( 162 ) , sidecut : 132-90-118 , radius : 16 m
This is a light ski and at first I didn't really trust it. It didn't feel very stable. Short turns were fine, but I couldn't find much rebound. I did like the direct edgehold-feel which I also felt in the Burners.
Nordica Steadfast (170 ) , sidecut : 132-90-118 , radius : 17 m
Okay, I 'm in love with these skis. The steering so direct, ton of edgegrip and stability! Especially in the short turns I felt great rebound! Long turns were also wonderful. Everything feels easy on this ski, it gives me a lot of confidence.
Dynastar Cham 97 ( 166 ) , sidecut : 133-97-113 , radius : 15 m
I could not really carve this ski and had to get used to it, it felt sluggish. But off-piste , it was just very direct and gave me a lot of confidence , so if you avoid the groomers, this is a very nice ski.
Scott Luna (166 ) , sidecut : unknown radius : unknown
This ski immediately felt too short. It's a twintip . It's light and forgiving , but not really stable at speed. Playful personality like the Scott the Skis.
Before I went demoing, I thought I was looking for a smooth ski with some metal/basalt with tip rocker, 85 mm under foot and a little rebound, with a damp feel which is especially good in long, carved turns. Now I ended with a stiffer, lighter, metal free and more playful ski than I thought, the Nordica Steadfast ( or Hell's Belles , I'll have to find a good deal). I had a blast!
If you have questions, just ask!
, but didn't find a good deal yet (sorry for my English btw, it's hard to describe a feeling anyway, and then in another language.. Hard.)
